Play Now, Pay Later
by evilwizardglick
Summary: Mr. Zero has been defeated by the Monkees before, and now he wants to regain his composure. What better way than to force the Monkees to fulfill his evil plot? Will he succeed, or will the Monkees find a way out of their terrible situation again?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Mike mumbled to himself as he gently put his guitar away. He hated how they were so desperate to make money that they would perform anywhere. This particular venue didn't pay very well, and the audience was mainly older people that just came to the restaurant to eat. They didn't particularly care for The Monkees' music, and Micky and Peter's loud messing around on stage earned a few frowns. The manager had hurriedly given Mike the money, but did not seem as if he were planning on inviting them back. Mike sighed. At least they would have enough money for rent and a few more meals.

A crash drew Mike's attention to the other band members. Davy grinned sheepishly from where he had tripped into the drum set, the tom toms slowly rolling away.

"You…" Micky jumped on Davy, causing a bigger mess and a tangle of arms and legs. Peter lept into action attempting to pull the duo apart, but Mike shook his head to himself and turned his attention back to packing up the instruments. He knew that in a matter of minutes they would be laughing in a heap on the floor, and all animosity would be forgotten.

Davy dodged a poorly aimed whack on the head with his own maraca while Peter tried to pull Micky's arm back, preventing the inevitable anger induced by the broken instrument. Behind them Mike began to calmly gather the drums and place them in their appropriate traveling containers. The money from the gig would take care of that months rent, but he'd only have $20 to spare to feed them and fill the gas tank until their next gig. Micky alone could consume enough food to make that barely last a week, so Mike would have to get straight to work finding their next show in the newspapers. Unfortunately there had not been many opportunities for them lately, and Mike was extremely worried that he wouldn't be able to provide enough this time.

Oblivious to the issues running through Mike's mind, Micky had managed to get Davy into a chokehold, rendering him defenseless.

"Lay off, Micky! I can't breath!" Davy pulled on his arm trying to release himself.

"Oh, sorry!" Micky removed his arm, smirking as he tousled the younger boy's hair to add insult to injury. Davy scowled, pulling himself away from Micky while smoothing his hair down.

"Leave me alone! It's because I'm short, isn't it!" Davy didn't like being treated like a child which included the motherly tousle.

"No, it's because you're imp." Micky stated matter-of-factly, earning another glare from Davy. The small stature often associated with an imp didn't not go unnoticed.

"He's not an imp! He's a human!" Peter exclaimed, shocked that Micky had lived with him for years and had not figured that out.

"Peter, no. I mean that...never mind. Need help, Mike?" Micky noticed that his entire drum set had been entirely packed up, and Mike was gathering the last of the equipment to be placed in their own box.

"I got it, Mick. Just take your drums to the car." His tone was downbeat, but the others didn't seem to notice, partially because Mike typically sounded rather mellow and also because they were still wound up from their short wrestling match.

Using his endless energy Micky bounded over to the cart that Mike had loaded and began to pull it towards the door. He only made it a few feet before he ran back-first into something that had not been their seconds before. One glance at Mike's fearful facial expression started alarm bells ringing in Micky's head. Slowly turning Micky glanced at the figure that had stopped him, and he was unable to restrain the cry of surprise.

"YOU!"

Mr. Zero looked at the brunette with a look of stuffy distaste.

"Yes, my dear boy, you don't need to tell the whole _neighborhood._ "

He turned back to Mike, his snobby aire somehow growing snobbier.

"I see you boys are still poor, struggling musicians. Your little speech doesn't appear to have helped much."

He stared at Peter, causing the blonde to shrink a little and step behind Davy.

"What do you want…" Growled Mike, moving in front of Peter and Davy as his fear was replaced with rage at the reminder of the devil's last visit.

Mr. Zero shot him a bemused look. "Since you seem so gifted at solving people's problems, I have one for you."

Mike glared at him. "We would never help you out. Figure your own problems out!"

"Yeah, why do need our help anyway?" Micky asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't think you realize. You have no choice. I could kill any one of you with the snap of my fingers." Mr. Zero raised his hand, almost threatening to perform the action.

Davy glared at Mr. Zero. "So why don't you?"

"Davy!" Micky nudged the shorter brunette.

The evil one eyed the two of them with distaste, then turned to Mike.

"It's not my problem;I simply don't want to give this task to anyone else. And you boys owe me."

"We don't owe you, _anything_!" Mike retorted defensively.

"I beg to differ, you owe me many favors for letting you off so easily." Mr. Zero responded coldly.

"We escaped fair and square!"

"I let you go." Mr. Zero sneered.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that!" Mike swung his guitar onto his back and pushed past Mr. Zero to the door. "We won't be helping you with _anything_!"

"That's right!" Micky followed, purposely hitting Mr. Zero's shoulder. The other two followed, Peter avoiding Mr. Zero by sliding along the wall and Davy attempting a swipe as he walked past. His fist somehow went nowhere near Mr. Zero's face, even though it should have been a clear shot.

"I have no intention on killing any of you yet, but I have other means of persuasion. You have made many enemies who are all going to be quick to help me if you are involved. If you don't do the task that I'm going to give you, I will make your last living days a living h**l."

Mike stalled for only a moment before shooting Mr. Zero a indignant glance.

"Be at the train station at 10:30 tomorrow morning. Your subject will be wearing a white shirt with red pants and a blue scarf."

Peter glanced behind him as the others shoved their way through the narrow door. Mr. Zero had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a heavy atmosphere to show that he had even been there. Peter tried to hold the panic down as the meaning of the words hit home.

"Hey guys? Do you think he really can do that?"

"I haven't a doubt, shotgun," Mike's tone was grim.

Micky yawned as he stumbled down the spiral staircase. Rubbing the last bit of sleep from his eyes he headed to the ice box, promptly opening it when he arrived. Grimacing he took in the lack of food before pulling out the last splash of milk. Without a word he snatched the box of cereal from Davy who was sitting at the table in a sleepy daze.

"Hey, I was using that!" He pointed toward the box as he gave Micky a groggy glare.

"Yeah, well now I am." Micky poured himself half of a bowl of cereal before passing the box back to Davy. Even though Mike usually dealt with the money, Micky knew how short they were, and he portioned his breakfast accordingly.

Davy poured himself a small portion as well as he tried to keep his eyes open to prevent spilling.

"Gee, Davy, you look awful!" Micky scooped an excessively large spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"Speak for yourself." Davy responded. "I couldn't sleep. I was too scared."

"Scared of what? Oh, pshaw! Mr. Zero wouldn't touch us! Mike proved that even he is defeatable!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think any speech from Mike is going to get us out of this one. I wonder what he wants us to do? And why does he was _us_ to do it?"

"Because he doesn't want to get his hands dirty!" Mike walked up, grabbing the cereal box before sighing and putting it back down. "Forcing us to do his dirty work just shows that he can still make us do whatever he wants."

"What if he's right? I don't want all of our enemies coming back to get at us again!" Davy shuttered as he thought of all the villains they had dealt with in the past.

"If we escaped them before, we can now as well."

"Mike, usually there are cops or other protectors nearby. Or they made a dumb mistake that they will have learned from. How would we explain the situation to the police?" Micky found himself siding with Davy.

Mike shrugged. "The police really haven't been that helpful in the past. It's always been us getting out of our own situations."

"Yeah, but I don't like this whole 'make our last days a living h**l' bit. Especially since I can't say h**l." Davy pointed out.

"Fine. Let's get Peter and we can talk about it." Mike headed to the downstairs bedroom, pulling out a half-asleep Peter still in his pajamas. Pulling out his gavel he banged it on the table causing Peter to jump. "The board meeting is now in session!"

"Okay, so we can all agree that we have a problem that needs to be seen too. Mr. Zero has proposed to the board that we perform a unknown task pertaining to an individual who is arriving by train 10:30 today, on the condition that if we refuse previous acquaintances will be guided to our doorstep. While doing anything for that sneaky little, power-hungry monster is a nauseating idea, being harassed by our enemies is also undesirable. Any motions from the floor?"

"I say we fight! I can make us ninja suits and we can use our wits and warrior training to _take them down_!" Micky an imaginary foe to accentuate his solution.

"Yeah, well, we don't have either of those…"

"Oh, right." Micky fell silent as his idea was thrown out.

"Look, we don't even know what we're supposed to be doing. What harm would it be if we went to the train station to see what we're dealing with?" Davy proposed.

"The harm is that the individual could be dangerous, and just the sight of us could cause us to be involved more than we would like."

"He's arriving by train… It's not like he's going to be loaded with weapons." Micky pointed out.

"Yeah, they wouldn't even let me bring my pocket knife!" Peter had finally woken up enough to include himself in the conversation.

"Peter, you don't have a pocket knife…"

"Well, they wouldn't have let me if I did!"

Mike cringed at Peter before sighing. "Okay, so we have a motion that we head to the train station to see what we're getting into. Who votes in favor?"

"Aye!" Davy rose his hand.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Micky saluted.

"I?" Peter followed the majority vote.

Mike slammed his gavel down, missing and hitting his leg. "Oo!" He winced in temporary pain. "It's decided then! We go to the, uh, train station!"

The train station was close to the pad, so the band arrived a little on the early side. Piling out of the monkeemobile they glanced around trying to take in the surroundings.

"Maybe we should hide just in case this person is dangerous." Davy suggested, starting to get nervous about the whole situation.

"Good idea." Mike agreed. "It will also let us leave without getting involved."

The four boys attempted to all pile behind the same trash can, but eventually found separate hiding places, though Peter had to be relocated several times due to his visibility or attempting to hide on the tracks. The train rolled in, and all four guys craned their necks to see potential passengers. As they watched, a young blonde girl stepped out of the train. She was wearing a white shirt with red pants, with a blue scarf delicately tied around her neck. She nervously glanced around, seeming a little confused. What peaked the guys' interest the most was the guitar strapped to her back and the smaller case holding a violin in her hand. Her luggage was only slightly larger than the violin case.

" _Kill her!"_ Mr. Zero's voice echoed through the Monkees heads, making Davy jump. He wildly started at Mike, who frowned indignantly. He shook his head firmly and stood up, dusting off his pants. He walked towards the girl, while the other Monkees looked on with surprise.

"Hello, ma'am, can I-uh, help you, miss?" Mike awkwardly gestured to her with his hand, then quickly withdrew it to behind his back.

She turned to him with a smile. "Yes, actually! I'm just visiting for a holiday, and I don't know where anything is… Do you know how to get to the nearest hotel?" Her voice was as clear as bell and took Mike by surprise. He wondered what she did that made Mr. Zero hate her.

"Absolutely! Me and the guys-" He gestured to the other Monkees "-would love to show you to a hotel!"

The guys casually left their individual hiding places and exchanged glances with each other. They hoped that Mike had a plan, but until he told them they would follow his lead.

"That would be great!" She smiles up at the taller man. "I really do appreciate it!"

"No sweat!" Mike shrugged.

The young woman laughed as the quartet hastily relieved her of her luggage, and in their hurry ended passing it around between each other instead. Once they had all settled on a piece Mike lead the group to the Monkeemobile, Peter marveling over her violin while Micky carried the guitar and Davy brought her bag.

Cleaning his throat Davy struck his most charming smile. "Hello, love! So…"

"Davy…" Mike shot him a warning look, but Micky caught on to his meaning.

 _He doesn't want Davy to get involved with an enemy of the devil's._ He thought to himself. _I dig!_

Meanwhile, Peter who had grown uncomfortable in the silence tried to strike up a conversation.

"So why are you in Malibu?" He rose his eyebrows in curiosity.

"I'm on break from school and decided to have a vacation! I'm from Missouri, and I really just wanted to go where there are beaches and the music scene is strong!"

"Oh, well, it's a good thing you came to Malibu!" Davy responded. "We have a beach in our backyard! And there are bands playing in clubs everywhere!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" Her smile showed her genuine joy at Davy's words. "I'll have to look around!"

Micky glanced at Mike, checking his mood to make sure he wasn't talking out of place. "There's this restaurant called Tony's that serves Italian food and pizza. They have a band that plays from time to time that I hear is great!"

"Tony's? With Pop? Micky, we actually play…" Micky slammed his hand over Peter's mouth.

"We, uh, okay a game where we try to guess what, uh, song they're going to play next!" Micky laughed nervously before shooting Peter a look.

"What do you mean? We have the set list before we even start pl…"

"Peter!" Davy and Micky chorused, silencing the Monkee.

The woman laughed, confused but entertained at the same time. She couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed that she wasn't going to get to know them better. They seemed like they'd be an interesting group to hand out with.

"Well, here we are! The enduring Monkeemobile!" Mike reached out to open the door for her.

"Monkees? Isn't that misspelled? And it's in the shape of a guitar!"

"Gosharoony, it is misspelled! I guess the Y would look out of place on the neck of the guitar." Micky mused.

Sensing that none of the boys would clarify the odd word across the side of the car the lady brushed it off. She didn't really want to intrude in their privacy, as she felt that everyone is entitled to their own secrets. Smiling at Mike she slipped into the back of the GTO, marveling at the exterior of the strange car. It was clear that someone had taken an older car and added their own embellishments to it, and based off of the pride bursting out of the curly haired man at her expression she assumed it was him.

"If, uh, should...if you need anything just holler." Mike smiled at her, making Micky and Davy snicker. Throughout the rest of the short road trip they talked and she told them that her name was Magnolia Simms.

Mike drove the car to the nearest hotel that he knew of near the pad. He wanted to keep and eye on her, and figure out why Mr. Zero was so interested in disposing of her. Pulling up to it he gestured to the bright sign advertising 'all the comforts of home."

"Well! Here we are! Dreamworld Hotel! It's a lovely place, and you can't get much cheaper around here!"

Magnolia nodded, losing some of her enthusiasm. "Thank you so much! I guess this is goodbye then?" She began to pull herself from the car, inducing the four Monkees to scramble to get out and open the door for her. Micky beat them to the door, immediately putting on his chauffeur character. Obnoxiously saluting he held the door open, remaining in place even after she left the car. It took a kick from Davy for him to close it, ending his performance with a bow.

After the laughter died down Magnolia waved to them as she headed for the door. "It's been a pleasure to meet you!"

"The pleasure's all ours!" Davy nodded his head at her, getting a nudge from Micky.

"Hands off, imp!" He murmured.

Davy shot him an annoyed glance before returning to the car.

"You know, she was pretty groovy! I wonder why we're supposed to kill her?" Davy voiced the question in all their heads as they entered the car.

"She must be too groovy for this world…" Peter logically induced.

"Peter, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Mike laughed. "More like Mr. Zero is mad that she's so talented without his help!"

"Mike, we don't even know if she has any skills!" Micky pointed out as Mike began to drive away. "Maybe the instruments are new and she wants to learn them!"

"Did you hear her voice! She's got to be the best singer in the world!"

"We should ask her to join our group!" Peter exclaimed. "Just think! With a girl in our group we could hit higher notes, and we could make some of the best harmonies! And then guys would dig us more! And Davy could stop dressing up as a girl!"

"Oo, Mike! I'd dig that!" Davy glanced at the older man hopefully.

Mike however was not joining their train of thought. "If you think we have issues now with Mr. Zero, then wait until we hire the girl we were sent to kill! It's a groovy idea, Peter, but we're going to have problems enough fighting off the villains sent our way since we're clearly not fulfilling his plan." Mike calmly drove the car off to the shoulder of the road and turned it off.

"Mike? What are you doing?" Micky glanced around suspiciously.

"If Mr. Zero wants us to kill her, he has a reason. As much as I hate to say it, maybe he wanted to get rid of her because she is dangerous. I don't think dropping her off at a hotel and never seeing her again is going to end well for anybody."

"So what are we going to do?" Davy inquired.

"What have we recently became quite skilled at?"

Micky nodded his head in understandment. "Spying! Let me get my spy kit!"

"Your what?" The other three chorused.

"My spy kit! It's got binoculars, a magnifying glass, a fake mustache…"

"Does it have a gag, because we're not going to be very successful if you keep talking like that." Davy quipped.

"No, but if it did I'd stick it…"

"Okay! Let's go! Vamonos!" Mike grabbed Micky's collar and pulled him out of the car. The other two follows suit, wondering what Mike had under his sleeve.

Suddenly, before the impromptu, side-road meeting had the opportunity to start, Mr. Zero appeared with tongues of fire flickering at his feet. What scared the boys more was the furiously angry expression on his face. They knew he was the devil, but he had always appeared calm and collected. Even after he had lost to Mike's speech he had simply snapped his fingers and disappeared. The look in his face reminded them that he could snap his fingers and kill them instantly.

"You did not follow my instructions." He hissed.

"You weren't exactly specific, and-" Mike nudged Micky before he said something that got them into more trouble.

"We would like to know what she did first." Mike calmly drawled, staring at Mr. Zero in the eyes. "We don't kill people, especially if they didn't do anything."

"That is _none_ of your business, and I think you forget your place! Don't forget what I told you would happen! Many of your _friends_ owe me favors!"

"We remember, and we're ready! We've defeated them all before and are prepared to do it again." Mike's voice was determined, and took everyone by surprise.

"So be it! Prepare for much suffering! Are you really prepared to sacrifice your friends for one girl?"

Before Mike could answer Mr. Zero disappeared with a bright flash, leaving smoke in his wake. As the dust and smoke cleared the three younger Monkees stared at Mike.

"Mike? Do you have a plan?" Davy whispered. He wasn't sure he was ready to suffer.

Mike still looked fiercely determined. "Well, first I think it is our duty to protect her. There is no saying that Mr. Zero won't send someone else."

"Are you sure it's worth it?" Micky asked, unusually serious.

"Of course it is!" Mike exclaimed. "Imagine if you were in Magnolia's shoes! We would do the same for each other, and I am confident that we will get through this. We always do."

"You're right Mike…" Micky looked down. "I guess I was just scared. What's your plan?"

"Well first, we have to go get her and explain everything. We'll figure it out from there. In the meantime, think about what we need to expect."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Magnolia sighed as she looked up at the hotel that she had been dropped off at. Sure it wasn't fancy, but based off of the $20 bill in her pocket, she wouldn't be able to afford it not to mention food. As the bright red car drove out of sight she hosted her bag and guitar case back onto her back, swinging her violin by her side. The boys had mentioned that the city loved music, so perhaps she could find a safe street corner where she could play and gain a few dollars. Heading in the direction she hoped was downtown she hummed a new Beatles song she had heard in the train station earlier that day.

Lost in thoughts she didn't notice that she was being followed. Slipping in and out of the shadows was a dark figure that clearly had bad intentions. It wasn't until she found herself in a dark alley with a dead end that she started to feel the threatening presence. As the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickles she heard a soft noise behind her.

 _Please… don't be a robber!_ She thought to herself, slowly turning to assess the situation. With a start she jumped back as a man stepped out of the shadows into the light where she could see his features.

"Oh, Micky! You scared me! You really shouldn't be in a dark alley like this late at night!"

The man smiled, and it gave Magnolia a sense of uneasiness. "I could say the same to you!" His voice had an unusual grate to it that had not been there before. Looking at him skeptically she tried shrugging it off. She'd only met them for about fifteen minutes. Based off of how much Micky had talked in that short amount of time it wouldn't surprise her if he had given himself a sore voice.

"I was just trying to find some of those clubs you had talked about earlier!"

"There aren't any clubs in this part of town, baby! At least not the kind that a pretty lady like you would be interested in."

 _Baby?_ Magnolia frowned. _Micky wasn't this...creepy earlier!_ A strange feeling of panic started to rise in her throat.

"Um, okay. I guess I'll go try to find the other part of town then!" Magnolia tried to push past him, but she was stopped as another figure stepped out of the shadows. Glancing up at him she expected to see one of the other boys, but instead it was a taller, more stocky man.

"Where do you think you're going, lady?" His grin only added to her panic.

"Micky? What's going on? Where's Mike, Davy, and Peter?"

"Micky's not here. And neither are any of his idiot friends! We've been sent to complete a task that they have refused to do!" Magnolia turned in confusion only to find herself face to face with a gun.

"You've had the pleasure of meeting Babyface. And he's the last person you'll ever meet!"

"What do you mean you don't have anyone by that name?" Mike slammed his fist down on the counter in an unusual expression of anger. "We dropped her off right in front of this hotel!"

"Mike, cool it!' Davy put his hand on Mike's arm to calm him. "Sir, are you sure? There's no other possible hotel for her to be at!"

The man behind the desk looked flustered, and it was clear that Mike's presence was making him nervous. "I..I'm sure! We haven't had anyone check in in the last three hours!"

"He got her already…" Peter whispered, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Did you maybe see her? Blonde? Small? Wearing...uh...a...uh...white shirt and red pants? Kind of hard to miss!" Micky prompted.

"No. No one like that! I know! She never came inside!" The poor man didn't know how to handle the small group of people. While one looked like he was ready to rip his head off, another one was crying with enough intensity to power a waterfall. The other two seemed more approachable, so his statement was directed to them.

"But we didn't even...she couldn't...we could have…" Peter's tears prevented a clear message from being relayed.

"Oh, it's alright, shotgun! We'll go find her!" Mike's protective instinct kicked in as he realized anger wasn't going to help him out. "Well, have a good day anyway." He turned his shoulder coldly before exiting the hotel with the other three in tow.

"Mike, what do we do now? She could be anywhere!" Micky tried to shake off the feeling that it may be too late already.

"How far could she be? She was probably walking, and with her instruments and luggage she couldn't be moving fast."

"Yeah, but the town is huge!" Davy pointed out.

"Then we split up! We'll cover more ground that way!"

"Oh no… We can't split up! Last time we tried that Davy got turned into a vampire, me into a werewolf, and Peter almost a frankenstein's monster's vessel. Nope! I'm not doing it, Mike!" Micky shook his head side to side vigorously to make his point clear.

"Oh, alright. Well then, why don't we split into pairs! Then at least we could form two duos!" Mike couldn't help but throw Micky's own joke back at him.

"Okay! Okay!" Micky nodded his head just as forcefully.

"Wait a minute! Don't we get a say in this!" Davy asked, gesturing to Peter who nodded in agreement.

"You can go ahead and vote, but Mike'll just veto it if he doesn't agree!" Micky pointed out.

"That's right! Davy, you come with me! Peter, you're with Micky! The moment you find her, head to the pad! Whenever possible find a phone and call the pad! If one of us has made it back we can answer the phone and end the search!"

Davy and Mike made their way back up the beach, calling Magnolia's name every once in a while. She had previously mentioned that had come to Malibu for the beaches, so they made the reasonable deduction she was probably there.

"Mike, if Mr. Zero already has her...does that mean we will be left alone?" Davy chewed his lip nervously.

Mike kicked at a rock. "I don't think so, shotgun. He seemed pretty angry… I wonder why we always seem to get caught up in these situations."

"It's Micky. Trouble always follows him." Davy responded with a cheeky smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Rolling his eyes Mike allowed a small laugh. "Micky would find a way to get us in trouble with a yo-yo!"

"Just think of all the enemies we've made! By just minding our own business!" Davy folded his arms in frustration. "We were just going to a gig when we met Bessie! Or Peter with the dance classes! He was roped into that one!"

"That's not always true!" Mike pointed out, climbing onto a lifeguard post in a touristy area of the beach. No one was there as it was nighttime, and Mike could see that Magnolia was nowhere to be seen. "You got us into trouble with El Diablo. And when Borris and Madame lost their microchip, we definitely got ourselves involved!"

"What? You must be joking! I didn't ask for the microchip to be in my maracas!"

"Sure, but we agreed to help the CIS! If we would have just given the chip to them and kept our noses out, Borris and Madame would never have gotten involved with us!" Mike hoped back down and continued to trudge through the sand. Davy hurried to follow.

"No, that's not it at all. It's stuff like this! Here we are, taking care of ourselves, and the devil just shows up and tells us that we have a lose-lose ultimatum. How could we possibly gotten ourselves into this?"

"Easy! Peter's love of music, and me opening my big mouth!"

"Mike, your big mouth got us out…" Davy disputed.

"No, it got us into our current problem. We've had a target on our back ever since then!" Mike tugged on his hat, feeling the conversation becoming uncomfortable.

"Yeah, but at least we have Peter!"

"That's after you tried to give yourself up instead! And besides that, I'm sure if Mr. Zero had gotten you instead he would have kicked you out as soon as possible."

"Well, if it had been you the devil would have given his job to you instead! You're more qualified!"

"Thanks, buddy!" The two fell into an uneasy silence, the jokes doing nothing to lose the terrible image of the Monkees being without Peter as he suffered in hell by himself. Of all of the trouble they had run into, the devil and Peter had been the largest bullet they had dodged. And unfortunately, the bullet was Monkee-wrenching itself back at them, this time with the mass of a cannon ball.

Mike sighed and shot Davy a glance. "Either way, we _will_ get out of this. We always do." He smiled at Davy, then turned away. " **Magnolia!"**

In the opposite direction Peter and Micky were heading deeper into town. Peter started getting nervous, remembering past experiences he had in the area. At least he didn't have his guitar with him to accidentally sell or trade.

Micky had taken to searching random spots that even Peter knew Magnolia wouldn't be. He didn't want to tell Peter, but he was also feeling a little afraid of this part of town. It was overrun with gangs and homeless people, and Micky hoped that making as much noise as possible would keep them away. Quietly singing a song to keep his nerves down, he continued to search, lifting a trash can lid, hopelessly bellowing Magnolia's name. Receiving no response, he allowed the lid to clang back. Having finished the song, he and Peter fell into silence and walked a few more blocks.

"Micky, can we go back now?" Whispered Peter. "I want to be where it's safe, at the pad."

"Peter, what makes you think it's safe at the pad?"

Peter hesitated. "...Oh…"

They walked on a few more blocks, listening to the night birds start to sing and the distant sound of waves. If it wasn't for their search, they would all be sitting on the beach, Peter probably figuring out the fingerpicking to one of Mike's songs and Davy flirting with some helpless girl.

"Micky-" Peter was cut off by Micky frantically shushing him. Voices could be heard a few blocks away. One was a clear, female voice, and the other caused Micky's blood to run cold. It was like his, but low and gravely, and came from the mouth of one of Micky's greatest fears…

...Babyface Morales…

Micky grabbed Peter's arm and pulled him forward, ignoring the silent cry of protest. Peter gave in and followed Micky's lead as the two snuck in the shadows and settled behind two crates. In the distance they could see Magnolia being held by the arm while Babyface talked to one of his two goons.

"- I'm just saying firing a gun downtown isn't the best option. We need to take her back to the Purple Pelican!" Stammered the goon, shrinking under Babyface's glare.

"No, we kill her now, I don't like owing favors to _anybody!"_ Babyface growled, giving Magnolia a shake.

"A brilliant idea…" Mumbled Micky.

"That's what we need, a bril-" Peter started to recite before being interrupted by Micky.

"No, I _have_ a brilliant idea! I distract Babyface while you grab Magnolia and _run_ back to the pad! It always works in the movie, and since we're the good guys, it'll work!"

"Micky, uh, it's a good idea, but I think Mike would say it's too risky. I-"

But Micky had already stood up and strolled into the circle of light caused by a street lamp.

"Oh, hi! Uh, don't mean to drop in on something. BABYFACE! Aw man, I haven't seen you in a while! You look sick! I mean...I've seen you better. Well, you were in prison, but you look more pale now!"

Babyface, Magnolia, and both goons stared at Micky with surprise, and there was an uncomfortable silence before Babyface regained his composure.

"YOU!" He yelled, pushing Magnolia away from him and into one of the goons. "NOBODY sends me to prison, and NOBODY impersonates me!"

"Oh, well. I didn't _mean_ to impersonate you! I mean, I _did_ , but it wasn't _my_ idea! Uh." He started edging to a seperate side road, realizing that his plan had some gaping holes.

"You aren't getting away this time." Babyface pointed his gun at Micky, causing the Monkee to jump.

"Uh, really guns aren't the solution to anything! I, uh, just remembered that I left an invention, uh, boiling! Yeah, you really shouldn't leave inventions out boiling. Peter tends to think they are dinner, which is funny since they smell pretty awful, uh, but GOTTA SPLIT!"

He turned quickly running into the darkness. Babyface and one of the goons raced off, leaving one goon holding on to Magnolia, scratching his head. Peter wished that Micky had explained his plan a little better, but figured that two against one seemed pretty reasonable. He quietly snuck out of his hiding place, crawling toward the pair. Right before he reached Magnolia and the goon, the man turned and saw him. He aimed a kick at Peter's shoulder, and struck him hard enough for Peter to crumple. The distraction gave Magnolia time to twist her arm, causing the goon to lose his grip and she quickly kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over and Magnolia grabbed one of the nearest crates and smashed it over his head. He crumpled to the ground just as Peter was able to pick himself up.

"Ms. Simms! I'm sorry, I wasn't much of a help!"

"That's alright, we need to go help Micky! What is he thinking?"

"Not much, usually." Peter answered honestly. "But he said that he would cause a distraction."

The two ran after the two gang members, hoping to catch them before they caught Micky.

Micky ran down another alleyway, noticing that they were getting less and less familiar. He needed to lose Babyface and his comrade, so Micky kept running, their yells providing a constant reminder of the danger of the situation. He yelped as a loud bang rang out, and with a flash of light a bullet passed by his ear.

"You missed! How could you miss? We're practically on top of him!" Babyface's voice only egged Micky to run faster.

"You try running while shooting a gun!"

"Give me that!" Micky ducked his head, trying to run faster. Making a sharp turn he jumped onto a trash can, trying to reach the roof before the gang could spot him. As the trash can gave way underneath him he managed to get his fingers hooked around the edge above him. Hanging off of the roof he tried to find a foothold to give him leverage up, but nothing was within reach.

"There! I see him!" Micky silently cursed as the two figures rounded the corner. Pushing his weight back he tried to scale the wall with his feet, but just as he managed to ascend a loud bang rang out and pain shot through his shoulder. With a cry he let go, crashing into the trash cans below.

 _It's just your shoulder! You can still run! Get up!_ Micky thought to himself. However, the moment he tried to move his arm the pain intensified, causing him to fall back again.

"Oh, get over yourself!" The goon's ugly face suddenly appeared in Micky's slowly darkening line of vision. "It's just a bullet to a shoulder!"

"At...least...I...I...don't have...a...bullet...for a brain!" Micky gasped out.

Without a word Micky was grabbed and yanked up. Holding back another cry of pain Micky felt his head swim.

Babyface smiled ruthlessly at him. "After all that time in jail, picturing you with a bullet in your brain, I finally have my opportunity! Here's what happens when someone double crosses babyface!" After quoting Micky's own impersonation of baby face he lifted his gun, positioning on Micky's temple.

"Go ahead and shoot me, but the guys know that I'm here! Peter saw you, and they'll have cops looking for you, and you'll be in jail again!"

Babyface scowled at him. "You're right. We're going to have to kill the rest of your friends as well! But you get to go first!"

"You'll NEVER find them! See, we knew that we would be running into trouble, so they're in hiding! And I'm the only one who knows where they are!"

"He's bluffing!" The goon determined.

"I can't take the risk. If the police get me, this time it'll certainly be the death penalty. We'll get it out of him." Babyface nodded at the gangster. "Fix him, and we'll go back to the new hangout!"

"Wha…" Before Micky could finish something hard hit the back of his head, and the world went black.

"She's definitely not on the beach!" Davy sighed.

"You're right, man. Let's check in at the pad since there are no phones here and go look at Pop's. Since we talked about bands playing there, she may have headed in that direction." The pad was only a short distance away from where the had been searching, so the trip back was short. Mike immediately spotted Peter and Magnolia waiting by the front entrance.

"She's safe! They found her!" He breathed in relief. "Wait a minute… Where's Micky?" Peter saw the duo approaching and began to jump up and down, waving his arms wildly.

"This can't be good." Mike broke into a run, Davy following closely behind him.

"Mike! Micky! They were chasing him! He told me to go!"

"Whoa, shotgun! Slow down! What happened?"

"Babyface had…"

Mike bristled at the mention of their old nemesis. "Babyface has Micky?"

"I don't know!" Peter looked like he was about to burst into tears. "They had Magnolia and were talking about killing her, so Miky distracted them so that I could get her away!"

"What kind of...why did you...Never let Micky do any of his plans that involve him distracting someone!" Mike couldn't help but feel a little angry at Peter. They all knew the serious situation they were in, and now more than ever they needed to make sure they had each other's backs.

"I...I know! I'm sorry!" The tears finally began to flow.

"Hey, cool it, Mike! There's little controlling Micky when he has one of his ideas!" Davy pointed out.

"Um, I guess I...I don't understand what is going on!" Magnolia stammered. Who was that man who shared Micky's face? Why did the boys seem to know him? How did they find her? So many questions were racing through Magnolia's head.

"Well, we have a LOT to explain. But there's no time! Micky is one of Babyface's least favorite people! If he does get Micky, he won't last long!"

Peter yelped as the weight of their predicament settled in. "Mike, they had guns!"

With those three words Mike leaped into action. Grabbing the Monkeemobile keys he jumped in the car, starting it before the others could hop in. Davy and Peter quickly entered, but Magnolia hung back.

"What about you, Peter? Your shoulder?"

"Is fine!" Peter spoke with determination, but Mike faltered.

"Peter, what happened to your arm?"

"One of the goons kicked him in the shoulder. It was pretty hard too! It knocked him back!"

"Peter…" 

"No! We have to find Micky!"

"Are you sure you're…"

"Just go, Mike!"

Magnolia quickly scrambled in as Mike turned his car into reverse. "The moment we get Micky back, I'm sending you to get your shoulder checked out!"

Peter nodded in agreement. He had honestly forgotten about it in the adrenaline, but now that it had been brought back into the conversation it was starting to throb.

"Okay, which way did you guys go?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Note:**

Thank you to everyone has reviewed! I realized that I haven't done any disclaimer or explanation yet! This story is being written by my sister and I, so if different parts seem a little different, that's why! Obviously, we don't own any rights to the Monkees, Feel free to offer suggestions or improvements as well as any requests!

 **Chapter 3**

Micky woke up, his head and shoulder throbbing. Groaning he attempted to rub his head, but quickly discovered that his hands were tied behind his back. Starting to panic, he began to squirm, pulling at his bindings in hopes to release his hands. Making no progress and only increasing the pain he glanced around taking in his surroundings.

He was seated on a chair in a small cement room with only one tiny glass window towards the ceiling. While it wasn't very big, the room was full of an assortment of small furniture and boxes, giving Micky the impression that he was in some sort of basement. Most everything was covered in a small layer of dust, except for a couple of newer looking items and the chair he was currently on.

A short stairwell was at the other end of the room, leading up to a heavy-looking door. Eyeing this Micky started scooting his chair in that direction. Wincing he ignored the screech produced in that action, concentrating only on the task on hand. It wasn't until he reached the stairwell that he realized that going up was going to be impossible.

He sighed, looking up the stairs in despair. Hopefully Peter would be able to find help, but he knew that they wouldn't know where to look. He remembered seeing a movie where the hero escaped by breaking the chair, so he proceeded to attempt to slam himself against the wall, which only resulted in him lying on the floor on his side with pain radiating through his injured shoulder.

Biting the inside of his cheek Micky squeezed his eyes shut, willing the pain to go away. While he could tell that the injury was minor, and that the bullet had not lodged itself in his shoulder, the amount of blood that had previously been lost plus the amount that was now making its way out was making him light headed.

 _I wish Mike were here!_ Micky groaned to himself. _No wait! I don't!_

Meanwhile, the other three band members and Magnolia were searching desperately. Peter had led them to where Micky had last been seen, but as expected the area was clear. No one was interested in splitting into groups again to continue the search, so Mike had decided it was the best time to explain the situation to Magnolia.

"Mr. Zero and us have a bit of a history. A little while ago Mr. Zero was able to trick Peter into signing a contract that designated his soul to him."

"How did he trick him?" Magnolia could already feel herself getting invested in the story.

"Well, Peter just has an ear for music and a curse of naivety that when combined makes him a sucker for sketchy pawn shops selling cheap musical instruments. Somehow he found his way to Mr. Zero's shop and fell in love with a harp there. All it took was a blind promise and he willingly signed the furshlugginer paper without reading it first."

Peter nodded, unsure of what Mike meant by naive, but his tone of voice didn't sound negative so Peter was inclined to agree.

"All the begging and pleading and negotiating and stalling in the world wasn't going to change his mind, no matter how hard we tried. It wasn't until we were almost out of time and he had come to officially take Peter away that we challenged the validity of the document. To make it right we requested a court hearing, and Mr. Zero granted it to us, perhaps in premature cockyness." Mike paused for a moment to glance down yet another alleyway, causing the others to resume searching as well as they had been lost in the story. Seeing nothing Mike continued.

"To further help his rotten scheme he filled the courtroom with his own minions. The judge was Roy Bean, otherwise known as the hanging judge and often a character utilized in childhood stories, especially in Texas. The jury consisted of convicts from the penal colony of Cayenne, which Mr. Zero proudly called Devil's Island. It's kind of known for being a harsh atmosphere where almost everyone who entered died, and nobody cared because they were criminals."

"Yeah, they were scary…" Davy recalled.

"They kept on chanting that we were going to be one of them." Peter shuttered.

"Well, that's what he thought!" Mike grimaced. "The 'witnesses' were just as scary. I guess it makes sense, but some of the most powerful, destructive personalities from history had all been drawn into the devil's influence. I had to approach Henry McCarty, also known as Billy the Kid, but completely lost face and only strengthened Mr. Zero's case by agreeing that he was the best gunfighter in the west. Davy tried to question Edward Teach, or "Blackbeard the pirate," but got seasick and had to desert."

"Oh, Mike!" Davy exclaimed at the terrible wordplay.

"But, uh, no! That's not what I was, uh, trying to say! He had to retreat?"

Peter nodded, "Much better."

"Anyway, Micky was the only one who got close to reasoning with a witness. His was Attila the Hun, known for his vast empire that he obtained through conquest. The two of them got into some kind of fight in whatever language Huns speak, and to this day I have no idea if Micky actually knows how to speak it or if he was just spewing sounds like he always does. Whatever I said was just a collection of sounds that resembled the sounds he was making, but it kept him from chopping Micky's head off."

"At that point Mr. Zero was fed up, and tried to end the hearing there, before we had a chance to present any witnesses. We managed to convince him to stay and be our witness, although he refused to swear on the bible. I dig. Touching the bible probably would have burned his hand or something."

"I've had a lot of experiences with formal documents in my past. I used to deal with a lot in relation to family issues, and it's become extremely beneficial when dealing with Mr. Babbit, our landlord, or other conniving individuals like that Renaldo cat from the Dance Au Go-Go. I knew exactly what Mr. Zero had promised and I also know a lot about Peter. You see, Peter has most musically inspired heart I have ever seen in my life. I've seen him learn how to play an instrument in a day, simply because he liked the way it sounded. The amount of time and love he had put into that harp was ten times more than I have ever seen him give before, and I knew that deep down inside, he'd always been made to play the harp. All I had to do was convince _him_ of that. I had to make him ignore the odds that were stacked against him." Mike continued to search even though the others had abandoned the task, enthralled in the story they were hearing. He was speaking much faster at this point, hoping to get past the mushy part of the tale.

"To release Peter from the contract all we had to do was prove that Mr. Zero had not held up his end of the bargen. Granted he had definitely given Peter fame and fortune by exploiting him in the newspapers and whatnot, but I got him to verbally claim in front of the jury that he had given Peter his harp skills. Once that was done, all Peter had to do was play the harp for the court after Mr. Zero 'took it away.' He did, and it was beautiful. The contract was null, and Peter was free. Now Mr. Zero stalks us like a coyote, and apparently he still thinks we belong to him."

Mike glared at a trash can that had been knocked over, ignoring the three faces of shock as he wondered if that mess had anything to do with Micky.

"Mike, how do you know all that? About the people in the courtroom?" Davy asked. Peter nodded numbly. He'd heard of all of them, and vaguely knew what they were known for, but Mike's knowledge astounded him.

"After we returned from the hearing I couldn't help but feel like I hadn't been able to fully reveal Mr. Zero's lies. There was something fishy about the whole thing, and I knew that Mr. Zero had probably failed to fulfil his part of many bargains. I went to the library the next day and researched all of them, and I was right. None of them are quite as they're made up to be. The hanging judge? He only condemned two men to be hung, and only one of them actually died. Rather, he was completely unqualified for his role. Often his punishments were silly or ridiculous. One book claimed he charged a dead man for having a weapon. In Texas. Everyone has weapons in Texas. Especially in the 1800s. The whole judge thing was just a way to get people into his saloon that he owned but also held court in. Absolutely no power whatsoever."

"I have no idea who was actually the greatest gunman in the west, but it wasn't Billy the Kid. He was just that. A kid that died when he was 21. He only killed eight men, and most of them were in self defense while he was escaping prison. One newspaper exaggerated his reputation, and shortly after that he was found and shot.

"Blackbeard was also far from the pirate model he is portrayed to be. Yeah, he was a pirate who invaded ships, but they were the ships belonging to the overly wealthy with Indian merchandise. He treated his prisoners kindly, and by no means killed people just for the sake of it. Absolutely not the devil's style."

"Attila the Hun was perhaps the most credible of the bunch, be even he wasn't infallible. No matter how hard he tried, he could not take over the Roman Empire which was his ultimate goal, therefore proving that he was not the great conqueror that he claimed to be. Each of these men enjoyed some success, but ended in a battle that happened because of their particular skills. In other words, Mr. Zero hid their disappearance by having them killed by the very thing that he promised them in contract form. The hanging judge was never as rich or as respected as he would have liked, Billy the Kid was not the greatest gunman in the west, Blackbeard was not an undefeated pirate, and Attila the Hun failed at being the ultimate conqueror. Mr. Zero is probably the most fraudulent being ever, which matches his title I guess."

Davy felt his mouth drop open. How had he not known that Mike had put all this work in? How did Mike feel that his speech about love wasn't good enough? Peter also felt surprised, not realizing how Mike had pulled the talent out of him. He previously had no idea why he was able to play the harp that day, and now it made sense.

Micky lay quietly on his side, trying to conserve energy that he presumed he'd need later for an escape. It was clear that being tied to a chair by a staircase on his side wasn't getting him any closer to freedom, so he had stopped struggling ages ago.

After all this time he knew the others would have at least started searching for him. He didn't know if any clues were left behind, but somehow they would find him. They always did. Whether it was Dragonman or Klutz, they had managed to find him, and this time would be no different.

"Well, you've gotten yourself into an uncomfortable situation!" Babyface's sneaky, vicious, mean face appeared at the top of the stairs.

"I didn't get myself into this! If I had any choice I'd be home right now, filling Davy's shampoo bottle with honey. Besides, I'd rather be by the stairs!"

"Why? It's not like…" Babyface was cut off.

"Well, Mike would kill me if I messed with his shampoo, and Peter would probably cry, so Davy's my only choice. At least I'm not filling it with hair dye. Mike nearly killed us when that happened. It's a good thing his hair is so dark because…"

"I meant why do you want to be by the stairs. It was a rhetorical question. Because there's no point in trying to make a quicker escape." He snarled.

"Escape? Pshaw! I wasn't going to try to escape. I just had a better view out the window from there!" From the floor Micky couldn't see out of the window at all, but clearly that excuse wasn't going to convince him anyway.

Babyface was clearly getting impatient with the small talk. Using Micky's shirt he pulled him back into an upright position. "Your friends weren't at your house!"

Micky beamed. "Oh good! They're safe!"

"Oh, no!" Babyface's face twisted into a disturbing grin. "They're not safe at all! Because you're about to tell me exactly where they're hiding!"

"Oh, see, I wasn't planning on that, and oh boy! You really need to brush your teeth!"

Babyface threw Micky down, causing the chair to teeter on the back legs before falling backwards. With a flash of stars Micky felt his head bump against the concreter floor. Catching his breath he tried to shake the pain away, but only succeeded in making the pain and dizziness worse.

"Be careful!" The second evil voice only made Micky feel more nauseous. "I need him alive remember!"

"Mr. Zero! I'm trying to get information out of him!"

"Don't be a fool! While he has an extremely loose mouth, he would never betray his friends that easily!" Mr. Zero retorted.

"Hey! I think?" Micky felt confused, and he worried that a possible concussion may be increasing his cognitive difficulties.

"Silence! I know exactly where his friends are! They are currently in the alley where you idiots shot him. I would recommend that you act fast. The more time they spend with Magnolia the more she will learn!"

"Right! And once she realizes what a weak villain you are, she will stop being worried about losing her life!"

"I would watch my mouth if I were you." Mr. Zero spoke in a slow deliberate tone. "I don't want to kill you just yet, but I could cut out your tongue."

Micky considered a comeback, but as his tongue was his moneymaker he wisely remained silent.

"That is much better! Babyface, I would recommend that you not fail me. If I have to call up backup I will not be happy." WIth a puff of smoke Mr. Zero disappeared.

"Babyface? Needing backups! I think Mr. Zero will enjoy that much more than you!"

"Be quiet! I'm not afraid to cut out your tongue either!" Satisfied with Micky's lack of response Babyface left, leaving Micky to worry about his friends.

The rest of the Monkees and Magnolia walked in silence, brainstorming where Babyface could have possibly taken Micky. Peter squirmed, nervous about what harm could be happening as they tried to follow the few clues they had. He wished he hadn't let Micky go off with one of his crazy ideas. He rubbed his shoulder, pushing away the pain. The dull ache was probably nothing compared to what Micky was feeling. Magnolia approached Mike, deciding to use the pause in conversation to figure out what else was going on.

"Mike, you explained Mr. Zero to me, but who was that Babyface, and why does he look exactly like Micky? And why does he hate you so much?"

Mike sighed. "It's another long story, but it seems we have the time, and you deserve to know." He took a deep breath and began his monologue.

"We found out about Babyface a while back when Micky got attacked by a man for no obvious reason and we reported it to the police. They immediately thought Micky was Babyface and after we convinced them that he was not the most vicious killer in America they tried to convince Micky to help them catch the rest of the criminal gang and their loot. We tried to refuse, but Micky got attacked _again_ by some of Babyface's enemies."

"This whole experience is part of the reason we generally try to figure things out on our own, because the police force thought it was a good idea for Micky to _meet_ Babyface and learn his mannerisms, which resulted in Babyface himself attacking Micky. His voice sounded weird for a whole day after Babyface tried choking him to death!"

Mike paused in his story, shaking his head. "We really need to keep Micky out of these situations…"

"Anyway, Micky went to their hideout at the Purple Pelican, impersonating Babyface. According to him he had to deal with Babyface's girlfriend, but she was able to help him find the rest of the gang. They must have been some idiots, because they didn't see though Micky's impersonation, which usually only stays solid for about five minutes. I guess since Babyface was in prison they weren't too happy to see him and tried to attack him, but somehow ended up attacking each other. For once Micky had a good plan, and stayed low until they had knocked each other out. They accepted him back and he did a great job convincing them to lead him to wear they hid priceless jewels. I was starting to get nervous about how deep in he was, and Peter and I suggested that we go with. Babyface's gang found us _in the pad_ , so Peter and I pretended to be specialists. We all went to this fancy house where jewelry was hidden and Peter and I tried to stall as long as we could. Some idiot policeman actually found us, but only ended up selling us tickets to the policeman's ball. For some reason I bought all of them…"

"Babyface had escaped and conveniently turned up right then and confused all of the gang members, slowing everything down more until Peter accidentally revealed which one was Micky."

"Sorry…" Peter whispered.

"It's ok, buddy. It turned out ok." Mike returned. "The cops _finally_ showed up and captured the whole gang, but Babyface tried to impersonate Micky until Peter convinced the police which one was the real Micky. So I guess Babyface escaped again, and is after Micky again."

"I'm sorry that these things keep happening to you." Magnolia apologized. "And I'm sorry that I got you involved with Babyface again.'

"Don't apologize. This is all part of Mr. Zero's plan. We are going to be seeing a lot of our enemies, and we just weren't prepared yet. We'll find Micky and barricade ourselves in the pad."

"I guess I'm just a little confused! How did you find me? How did you know you _needed_ to find me?"

The trio shared a glance. She'd have to know what was going on at some point, but the truth would probably cause her to lose trust in them and would probably scare her away putting her in excessive danger. However, the longer they took to tell her that they were actually sent to kill her, the more she would hate them when she found out.

"Magnolia, I'm not really sure how to say this, but…" 

"They were hired to murder you. By your friend, Mr. Zero."

The voice caused them all to jump and turn in his direction.

"Babyface! Where's Micky?" Mike growled.

Babyface laughed, enjoying the anger that had boiled up in Mike and the shock and fear crossing Magnolia's face.

"He's...safe." The way Babyface spoke made Peter yelp in fear for Micky's life.

"I swear, if you even hurt a curl on his head…" Davy's voice was low and threatening.

"What?" Babyface scoffed. "You'll stomp on my toe? Admit it, kid. You're as dangerous as a flea."

"Have you ever been bitten by a flea?" Peter retorted. "I haven't, but I imagine it wouldn't be comfortable. And it itches a lot."

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Davy gave Peter a small smile and whispered "Thanks anyway." Mike shook his head before returning to the issue.

"Give us Micky back! He was only acting under police orders!"

"At any point he could have simply walked away! Besides, this isn't about that! Although it is certainly making this more enjoyable!"

"Then what do you want from us?" Peter asked.

"He doesn't want anything from us. He's working for Mr. Zero." Mike glared at Babyface's smug smile.

"Then why does he only have Micky?" Peter frowned in confusion.

Babyface laughed. "Micky walked into this mess! And now that we have him, it's making it much easier to get you and more importantly Magnolia!"

"Well, you're not going to get her!" Davy fired back.

"Yeah!" Peter stood in front of her defensively. "You'll have to go through us first!"

"That's not going to be a problem!" As Babyface spoke four men with guns stepped into the alley, each one aiming at each of their targets. "We'll go through all of you at the same time!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Magnolia barely noticed the gun that was being held to her back. In the last 24 hours she had gone from heading to a relaxing vacation, to finding out that someone wanted to kill her, to finding out that the people who she thought she could trust were hired to kill her. It had been the literal definition of an emotional roller coaster. Now she was undoubtedly facing death again, and there was no one there that she could trust.

Glancing over her shoulder she peaked at the men she had previously trusted with her life. Despite the fact that they had tricked her, she couldn't help but feel that she had not been in danger while she had been with them. They had re-appeared just when Babyface's gang was about to kill her, and Micky had even risked his own life to distract them. Would a murderer do that? Mike had also spoken in length about their history, and that made it seem unlikely that he had any bad intentions.

But maybe their sacrifice and openness was all fake? What if they were creating stories and faking valiance to fool her into trusting them until they had the perfect opportunity to kill her? Sure they were being "captured" by Babyface, but were they really in alliance with him and only pretending to be scared for Micky and their lives.

A small sob from behind her focused her attention to Peter. Tears were streaming down his face, paired with the typical red eyes and runny nose that would be hard to fake. His face was so innocent and terrified, and every word she had heard him say before was heartfelt and compassionate. He had even been injured in the incident, which must be causing him pain the way the man behind him kept yanking on his arm.

Davy also seemed to be incapable of murder. While he had shown flashes of anger, it always came from a good place like worry for his friends. In fact, he had seemed more concerned with flirting with her earlier, which is an unusual trait of a criminal. Even now his face showed a mixture of fear, anger, and worry so intense it was hard to not believe.

Mike on the other hand looked stoic. He had been the one to fill Magnolia out on most of the missing information, and it was almost like he felt that she needed to know their history. Either he was incredibly good at making up stories, or they had been through a rough past. Sure it might make them seem more trustworthy, but if they really wanted her to be comfortable they wouldn't have made up such a dramatic story.

Feeling her eyes on him Mike glanced over, and for a moment she saw a glimmer of panic in his eyes. It quickly changed to a look of encouragement toward her before changing to thoughtfulness. She could practically see the gears turning as he tried to find a way out of their current predicament. Would someone who is trying to kill her work so hard at appearing hopeful?

"Move faster!" The goon covering Davy shoved him with his gun, causing his fists to ball up in anger.

"You do that again, I swear I'll…"

"Davy!" Mike's one word silenced the Monkee. It was clear that with these men any type of trouble would result in serious problems, so antagonising them could be dangerous.

The man snickered and jabbed Davy in the back again. "What are you going to do? Unless of course your mom won't let you!"

"Nothing." Davy whispered. This induced a round of laughter from everyone except Babyface who kept his ruthless glare.

"You hear that, Tony? If I touch him again, he'll do nothing!" More laughter followed, and Davy's eyes flashed before he suddenly swung out and punched the gangster in the eye. While his career in boxing had been short lived, he had actually gained a fair amount of knowledge in the sport, giving him the expertise enough to land a solid blow, throwing the man back. Within seconds a purple bruise began to form around his eye as he turned to glare at Davy.

"You'll be sorry for that, you little…"

"Who are you calling little?" Davy spat back. Now the the punch had been thrown there was no holding his temper back.

The gangster made a lunge for Davy, grabbing his head and slamming into the wall behind him. Ignoring Mike and Peter's yells behind him he raised his arm for a punch, but Babyface stopped him.

"Cool it, Mugsy! We can't kill him!"

"Why not, Babyface? I want to punch that impertinent grin off his face!"

"Because we'll be in big trouble if we do, that's why!"

 _So, Mr. Zero must be working directly with Babyface now!_ Mike observed _I guess that means we don't have to worry about our lives, just Magnolia's!_

"Just one little…?"

"No!"

"Fine. But can we at least knock him out?"

Babyface thought for a second before shrugging. "I guess so. Being harassed by these idiots wasn't in the agreement."

"But…" Peter opened is mouth to protest.

"Pete!" Mike hissed. Why did he have to be the only one with common sense?

"You both shut up, or you'll be next!" In one quick movement Mugsy used the butt of his gun to knock Davy's head, causing Peter to wince and turn away. There was nothing Mike or he could do as Davy was gathered up, and tossed unceremoniously over Mugsy's shoulder like a sack of potatoes (a position he was surprisingly accustomed to.) Once again the two Monkees and Magnolia were shoved off into the dark alleyways.

A thud from upstairs jerked Micky awake. Despite his uncomfortable position tied to the back of a chair lying on floor, he figured he needed rest in order to escape. His heart thudded as he heard thumps from the ceiling. Had the others come to save him? Was Babyface about to return and finish the job he had started? Maybe he had changed his mind about following Mr. Zero's orders? Micky's mind raced with all the possibilities.

Footsteps gradually became clearer, as well as shuffling and scraping. The door suddenly slammed open revealing Babyface and his gang...along with the other three Monkees and Magnolia.

"Mike! Davy! Pet - ow!" Micky winced as he was kicked in the ribs. He glowered at the assailant, counting to 10 in his head to keep himself from getting in more trouble.

"Micky!" Peter cried, twisting out of Mugsy's grip and running to Micky, pulling his chair up and wrapping him in a hug. Davy and Mike hung back, Davy looking a bit dazed from the knock on his head.

"Don't worry, Pete! They can't kill us! They're working with Mr. Zero, and he wants us alive!" Micky informed him, shaking his head as if it would relieve the fuzziness.

"Yeah, we know." Mike sounded despondent, which Micky did not like on his voice. Ignoring Peter who was jubilant about the reunion with his friend he glanced at Mike in concern.

"Don't be so excited about it! Mr. Zero has plans for you!" Babyface grinned.

"Oh, yeah?" Davy interjected. "What are they?" While the question was genuine, his tone was taunting.

Babyface scowled. "As if I would tell you!"

"He doesn't know!" Mike scoffed. "Honestly, Babyface, that surprises me coming from you! I'd think you wouldn't want to involve yourself in something that you don't have complete control over!"

In a flash of anger Babyface struck Mike across the face, causing his friends to all tense, but wisely stay back. "Don't ever question my control. I do what I please, and you better feel lucky that I am working WITH Mr. Zero, because if I wasn't you'd all be dead!"

Noting the emphasis on the word 'with' Mike couldn't help but smile, despite the fact that his nose was possibly broken. Babyface's defensiveness just clued him off that he was extremely sensitive about the fact that he wasn't getting to call the shots. The fact the Babyface wanted them dead was clearly the truth, but he was so fearful of the actual devil that he hadn't done it yet, even though he could have multiple times.

Babyface's eyes narrowed as his recent attack seemed to have no effect on his prisoners disposition. In a flash of anger he forgot everything he swore to Mr. Zero when they first met. An enraged cry ripped from his throat as he grabbed Mike's neck, determined to choke the complacent smirk of his face.

Before Peter or Davy had a chance to rush over and free their friend a puff of smoke announced a new arrival.

"Put him down!"

Babyface froze, and tightened his grip for a second before releasing Mike. Gasping for air Mike quickly moved away, into the awaiting embrace of his friends. Magnolia did not include herself, although she was becoming more confident by the second that these men were trustworthy.

"I've warned you…" Mr. Zero felt no need to finish his threat as Babyface was clearly caught between obeying the powerful villain or maintaining his ruthless image in front of his biggest foes. Having little choice he forced himself to relax, but made no response.

Turning to the quartet, Mr. Zero's expression changed from stern anger to smugness.

"I presume you four have taken the time that I have graciously permitted you to rethink your decision?"

"Never in a million years!" Peter's boldness took the Monkees by surprise. The pent up emotion from walking in on Micky tied up and on the floor, watching Davy get knocked out, his own shoulder injury, and Mike getting mistreated by Babyface was causing him to ignore his fear. "We would rather die!"

"Well, that's a distinct possibility." Mr. Zero grinned to himself as the familiar line cause them to bristle.

"No! You said that you don't want us dead!" Peter pointed out, earning a nudge from Davy.

Mr. Zero's smile widened. "No, I said I'd make your last days a living hell. The moment I get bored with this little game I can have every one of you killed. As I've said in the past, you have many enemies that want you dead, and each of them would be willing to perform the task themself."

Taking the Monkees silence and acknowledgement of his statement he turned to Babyface. "I need you to keep them down here. I am bringing in some old 'friends' of theirs, who have already informed them that they would meet again." Facing the Monkees he addressed them. "Ever since you last left his presence he has been working on a new experiment, and one of you will he his first guinea pig. Or perhaps something else…" With an evil laugh Mr. Zero disappeared again in a puff of smoke.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Micky wondered, coughing away the leftover fumes of Mr. Zero's dramatic exit.

"I think I know…" Mike sighed.

Babyface glared at the front door of the building, willing it to remain closed and not permit the entrance of these "friends" Mr. Zero had been talking about. Having left the Monkees and Magnolia downstairs he was waiting to see what Mr. Zero's next part of the plan was.

The building they were currently in was an old hotel that had gone bankrupt at least a decade prior. The owner was in trouble for other financial issues, and therefore he had deserted it, leaving behind everything. While each of the rooms was completely furnished and some of Mr. Zero's minions had done a hurried cleanup, the rooms still felt dingy and musty, an condition Babyface was accustomed too.

The state of the rooms was the least of Babyface's worries however. Rather, the fact that Mr. Zero had insisted on using a location that could hold an abundance of people was. When the agreement had first been made he had assumed that it was between Mr. Zero and himself, but it was becoming clearer that many more people were going to be involved. Babyface was not used to being kept in the dark, and to him it was a blow to his reputation. Especially as the Monkees were determined to ridicule him for his lack of control.

A knock on the door caused Babyface to jump before grudgingly opening it to reveal the visitors. And old man in a lab coat and glasses filled the doorway, followed by a much shorter man that stood with a hunch.

"Hello. I am Doctor Mendoza. I was told to expect a room to be ready for me and my valet." He spoke with an accent that Babyface suspected was greatly exaggerated.

Although he wanted to slam the door in their faces he stepped aside and let them in. Without a word he handed Dr. Mendoza the key to a room and sat back down in his chair, making in clear that he would be no more help.

"The service here is terrible! Is this how you would treat a great scientist!" Mendoza threw up his hands, almost hitting Groot in the face. With a glare Babyface regarded him.

"I don't work here; I'm staying here. There is no staff. Go find your own room."

Dr. Mendoza said something in another language, causing Babyface to tense. It was one thing letting other people in on the plan, but if they were going to insult him in an unknown language there was going to be issues.

"Oh, good! I'm so glad you two have been able to meet!" Mr. Zero appeared in the middle of the room, cutting off their view of each other. "Babyface, this is Dr. Mendoza, the creator of a concoction that we are about to test out. Dr. Mendoza, this is Babyface, the most vicious gangster in America."

Dr. Mendoza snorted. "Only in America, huh?"

"Oh, I'm sure you have some vicious killers from where you're from, but I do my crimes with purpose and not barbarously!"

"Master, don't forget about me? Groot?" The shorter man intervened.

Paying him no attention Mr. Zero continued. "As I informed you Dr. Mendoza, two more visitors are on their way, and they will supply the last ingredients that you need to complete your brew!"

"Wonderful, wonderful! I look forward to meeting them!"

The Monkees and Magnolia had been left downstairs with a guard at the door. The tiny window only served as a way to let light in, so keeping the prisoners tied up was not a concern. The Monkees took this to their advantage and had quickly untied Micky from the banged up chair and finally had a moment to assess the damage.

Babyface and his gang had been kind enough to quickly wrap Micky's wound in an effort to keep him from bleeding out. Mike had cleaned up what he could, but it was difficult without any water or bandages. They finally settled on a piece of torn shirt, wrapped tightly, to keep enough pressure on the wound and stop the little bleeding left. Micky had a few more bruises, but nothing that seemed particularly concerning. Peter's shoulder was covered with a large purple bruise, but he insisted that it barely hurt at all. Davy's head sported a hefty bump which he described as "the size of a cricket ball". The statement immediately brought on an argument where Micky insisted that it was only the size of a golf ball and that Davy was just so small that it looked larger. Mike jumped back in, telling them both to shut up, which brought attention to his raspy voice from Babyface's attack.

Magnolia sat back quietly watching the band members pull themselves together. She decided that for now she could assume they were trustworthy, since they were in the same predicament that she was in. They seemed like such an interesting group. Already they were teasing each other and making jokes about how Mike's new "sexy voice" would help them on their next song. It was obvious that they had been through a lot already, since being stuck in a mobster's basement didn't terrify them as much as it did her.

The room had fallen into silence as everyone thought about any possible escape. Micky had suggested a few outlandish ideas (dig a hole through the floor, blast the window in, make a flare out of Mike's shoes…) but the mood had gotten serious.

"Who do you think the friends Mr. Zero referred to are?" Asked Peter, now that he understood that "friends" was a sarcastic term.

"He said someone who wants to experiment with us, which could only mean Dr. Mendoza." Said Mike with a sigh. This thought scared him, as there would be nothing to do if one of the guys got harmed in the experiment. The fact that it was an experiment meant that there would be no known fix.

"Who is Dr. Mendoza?" Asked Magnolia, surprised to hear of yet another Monkee enemy.

"He is a scientist that asked us to come teach his Frankenstein's monster how to be a normal teenager." Micky offered. "It turned out to be a trick where he transferred our music skills into the monster and make him what Dr. Mendoza referred to as 'zee greatest rock und roll singer in zee world.' Not sure why he chose us, though. The Beatles would have been better… Anyway, we were able to go back to the lab and switch everything back. We got Dr. Mendoza arrested, and I'm sure he's not very happy about that…"

"Do you always get yourselves into messes like this?" Magnolia wondered out loud.

Mike nodded. "On a weekly basis!"

"Why? It doesn't sound like it's working well for you!"

With a laugh Micky shook his head. "It's not by choice. The bad guys either involve us, or the authorities force us to be involved!"

"Then why don't you let them know that all your enemies are after you?" Magnolia asked.

"And have them laugh in our face? Or better yet, impersonate them, or use us as bait, or fine us for being in the wrong place? No siree, Bob baby!" Mike and the Monkees had learned quickly that their quality of life was worthless to the authorities. Long-haired weirdos were expendable.

"Oh." Magnolia signed. She had no idea how the quartet had survived this long. The idea of her putting them in danger was beginning to weigh heavy on her. All five sat in silence, either trying to think of a way out, contemplating the harsh life that the Monkees lead, or wondering how quickly Mike would notice if his guitar strings were switched upside down.

As Magnolia opened her mouth to offer a suggestion the door suddenly swung open. Babyface and Mr. Zero appeared at the top of the stairs, and as they stepped down to the first step the Monkees' fears were revealed. Dr. Mendoza and Groot followed, bringing the next pair of visitors into view.

With a gasp Mike put together the two sets of villains and knew what was about to happen.

"Davy!" He whispered, standing protectively in front of the Englishman. Glaring at the new arrivals Mike seemed to be shooting imaginary daggers into them.

"Ah! I'm so glad you remember us!" The count exclaimed, shadowed closely by his niece, Lorelei.

At first Micky was confused by Mike's sudden protectiveness for Davy, but then he remembered.

" _Who in the WORLD are you?" Mike asked in surprise. The young woman wearing white answered with a slight smile._

" _I am the doctor's beautiful daughter!"_

" _Oh!" Micky glanced at Mike in confusion. "Well, what do you have to do with all this?" He motioned around to the surroundings._

" _Nothing! I'm in the sequel!"_

Her response had been confusing, only slightly clarified later when Micky returned to the closet after they had discovered what the doctor had done to their musical abilities.

" _Your father stole our voices and gave them to that monster! Now what do you think of that?" Micky inquired._

 _Glancing up from her script she smiled again. "Wait'll you see the sequel. The vampire turns Davy into a werewolf!"_

This must be the sequel. Micky also rose to stand between Davy and the small crowd of people. Although Peter had not yet figured out what was going on, he could tell Davy was in trouble, so he also stood, pursing his lips into the most menacing look he could muster.

"Oh, Davy? Don't you miss me?" Lorelei moaned.

"Oh, sure, love! And I miss cleaning the stables after the horses!" Davy's response did not seem to bother Lorelei however.

"You will not be able stand in our way! The experiment must be performed!" Dr. Mendoza declared, getting impatient.

"Fine! Then you can turn me into a werewolf!" Peter retorted.

"Wait! How did you know?" The count looked confused.

Peter shrugged. "Call it a lucky guess." _So he has figured it out!_ Micky smiled in pride for his friend.

"It does not matter! We want _him_!" Lorelli pointed dramatically at Davy, with at determined smirk.

"Over my dead body!" Declared Davy, drawing his fist back for a punch.

"No, Davy!" Cried Mike, grabbing the shorter boys wrist. "Keep your temper down!" He whispered in Davy's ear. Attacking the captors would just make the situation worse.

Babyface and his gang stepped forward to grab Davy, as he struggled against Mike's grip. The approaching men caused Mike to panic, and he quickly pulled Davy behind him, still struggling. Peter and Magnolia quickly followed suit and stood between the goons and Davy. Their efforts were useless, as the goons quickly shoved Peter to the floor, punched Mike in the face causing him to lose his grip and stumble, and tossed Magnolia aside and into Micky's waiting arms.

Davy was dragged, struggling, from the room, and the vampires, mobsters, and Dr. Mendoza quickly followed, closing the door with a slam. Mike ran to the door, and banged desperately, despite knowing that it wouldn't help. Giving up, he turned around and sat with his back against the door.

The situation just kept getting worse and worse. They had finally found Micky, and already Davy was gone. Mike felt helpless. No matter how hard he tried, the other band members kept getting in trouble. Mike was a failure, and it was getting exhausting continuously letting the guys down. He rested his head against the door and closed his eyes, trying to think of any possible ways of escape.

Davy was shoved violently into a separate room in the old house. As much as he felt terrified about being alone without Mike or the other guys to help him, his anger at the unjustified treatment they were all getting was beginning to cloud his vision. He attempted another punch, but Mugsy easily blocked it.

"Just stop trying." He growled. "You ain't getting away this time. "

The door slammed closed, leaving Davy, Dr. Mendoza, the vampires, and Groot alone in the room.

"Groot, tie him down." Dr. Mendoza ordered.

The small man hurriedly did as he was instructed, overcoming Davy's struggling and tying him securely to a chair.

"You can't...Leave me alone!" Davy yelled.

Ignoring Dr. Mendoza continued. "Do you have the concoction?" Dr. Mendoza said to the vampire, holding his hand out expectantly.

"I have it right here!" The Count handed a vial of purple liquid to the scientist and laughed gleefully. "I trust that it will be effective! I invented it myself."

"It had better." Dr. Mendoza stated flatly. "I am creating the world's first man created werewolf. It will bring many advancements!"

The Count hesitated. "...What kind of advancements?"

"Some great movie blockbusters."

"Oh."

Dr. Mendoza turned to Davy. "Now, don't worry. This should hurt quite a bit."

Laughing to himself he inserted the contents of the vial into a large syringe, and plunged the needle deep into Davy's arm. Davy yelped and struggled harder against the chair.

"You'll never get away with this!" He yelled, tears already springing into his eyes.

"I believe I already have." Responded Dr. Mendoza with a laugh. "Take him back."

Groot untied Davy, who started struggling again, but was quickly overcome with nausea, and collapsed against the assistant. Groot dragged Davy back to the basement, unceremoniously pushing him down the stairs and slamming the door with an evil grin.

The Monkees rushed over to their friend, who was starting to shake.

"Davy! What's wrong?" Cried Peter.

Instead of responding, Davy keeled over and started violently vomiting.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for all the follows and comments! I'm glad other people are enjoying the story other than my sister and me!

 **Chapter 5**

"Don't!" Davy waved off his friends as tried to figure out how to help him. Peter was trying to help him stand up, while at the same time Micky was trying to help him lie down.

"Davy, you're shaking!" Micky helpfully observed. "What happened?"

Once again, a wave a nausea overtook Davy, causing him to moan in pain and roll onto his side.

"Look, his arm!" Mike pointed out the needle wound. "They injected him!"

"I got this! I can suck out the poison and spit it out! I learned it at boy scout camp!"

"Cool it, Micky! It's not a snake bite! That won't work!" Mike argued.

"Says who? It may!"

"More likely it'll turn you into a werewolf as well!"

"That's fine with me! I've already been one! I have experience! I can help Davy through the process!"

"This may be different! You barely changed at all last time!"

"What do you mean? I was changed!"

"Both of you, stop!" Peter yelled. Lowering his voice he glared at his friends. "We need to help Davy!"

Davy tried to push himself back up, but doing so caused pain to rip through his body.

"Mike?!" he whispered weakly. "Please, make it stop! It hurts!"

"W...What hurts? What can I do?"

"Everything! I don't know!"

Davy gasped his skin began to prickle all over. It felt like there was something inside of him trying to rip its way out. The color in the world around him began to drain away, leaving everything in muted colors. Smells from around the room began to overwhelm him, increasing the nausea.

"Help! Please!" Why were they just standing there in shock? Every joint screamed in pain and he felt himself bend over as his shoulders began to take on his weight.

"Davy!" Peter whispered. Davy's short stature started to grow as his facial features continued to elongate. Turning away Peter squeezed his eyes shut, burying his face into Micky's shoulder.

In one last effort Davy yelled out before the pain took over. "Mi…" His vocal cords twisted his speech, ending his cry for help in a canine whine.

As quickly as it started the transformation ended. Silence filled the room as Mike, Micky, and Magnolia stared at the oversized wolf in from of them. Peter continued to cry into Micky's shoulder, unable to look and see what Davy had become.

Panting, the dark brown colored wolf sat there shaking. His eyes were still dark chocolate brown, unlike the usual blue or hazel eyes most wolves possess, but everything else about him had changed completely.

"Davy?" Micky finally managed. The creature did not respond, causing Micky's stomach to knot up in worry. "Davy?" He took one step forward, hoping to be able to contact Davy through touch.

With a snarl Davy leapt to life. Snapping at Micky he narrowly missed chomping on his hand as Mike grabbed Micky's shoulder and pulled him back. This did not stop Davy, and he lunged for Micky again. Micky yelled as the bloodthirsty monster rushed toward him. With a swipe Davy knocked Micky the ground, as four gashes appeared on his arm.

Wasting no time he jumped to his feet, and made a run toward a pile of boxes in the corner.

"Micky!" Mike followed closely, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Peter and Magnolia dash behind some furniture.

"He's gone! Davy is completely gone!" Mike observed.

"I...I know! What do we do!? We're trapped!"

"No...No we're not!" Without explaining Mike jumped out from their hiding spot and ran toward the stairs. "Hey Davy!" He yelled, waving his arms to get the wolf's attention.

Davy's bloodshot eyes landed on Mike. With a growl that seemed to shake the room he lowered his body to build momentum and charged.

"Mike! Move!" Micky yelled as Mike remained at the top of the stairs. He watched in horror as Davy barreled toward him, reaching the stairs in seconds due to the small size of the room.

"Mike!" Peter and Micky yelled in unison. However, just as Davy jumped forward, claws out, Mike jumped off the side of the stairs. Unable to stop himself Davy smashed into the door, breaking it into splinters at the impact. It only took a moment for the wolf to regain himself, and he immediately jumped up and raced down the hall, leaving the other three Monkees and Magnolia alone in the basement.

As Davy tore through the house he felt the wolf energy weaken. His confusion started to clear up as he began to regain control, and he started looking for a way out. He burst through a weak, wooden door into the blazing sunlight outside, making a beeline for the nearest cover he could find. Once in the woods, Davy started concentrating on controlling his breath and calming down. He looked down and was taken by surprise to see large paws instead of hands. As he started to panic, he felt the wolf instincts take over, and fought the urge to run off in another rampage. In the distance he heard a yell, but before he had the chance to wonder about, the wolf instinct kicked in at full force and he bounded off into the woods.

The three Monkees and Magnolia all started at the broken door in shock. Everything had happened so fast, and turned out in ways they didn't expect.

"Wha...Davy...Mike…how did you?" Mumbled Peter, struggling over how to convey his fear for his friend.

"No time!" Yelled Mike hoarsely, "Come on! We have to get out!"

The group scrambled for the door, running up the stairs and into what appeared to be a sitting room. Two of Babyface's mob members were sitting on dusty, old couches, with a look of surprise on their faces. The moment was short lived, as they realized their prisoners were getting away.

"Stop!"

Quickly the three Monkees and Magnolia ran towards the broken door to the outside, bullets raining around them. Jumping through the giant hole, they followed the trail of wood pieces and knocked over debre into the woods. They ran until they could no longer hear the sounds of pursuit and collapsed, exhausted into the brush. For a short time, they only sounds heard were heavy breathing and birds. A whine sounded in the distance, bringing the group's attention to the problem at hand. Peter sat bolt upright.

" Mike! What do we do?"

"Well, first we get some first aid." Mike said calmly, inspecting Micky's bleeding arm. Micky ignored him, and continued to pant on the forest floor.

"If we can find a store, I can help." Magnolia said, pulling her blonde hair back into a ponytail. She was beginning to feel a little useless and in the way.

Mike nodded. "Come on Micky." He helped Micky to his feet, and the four trudged on, looking for a store.

"You absolute _fools_!" Bellowed Mr. Zero. "Didn't you _think_ about what the concoction would create? Didn't it _occur_ to you that you were creating a powerful animal? What made you put him _back_ with the others?"

Babyface winced, feeling the heat radiating from Mr. Zero.

"You shouldn't blame me! This was all Dr. Mendoza!"

"Stop!" Mr. Zero pushed his hand towards the mobster. Babyface was slammed against the wall by the force of an invisible fist and slumped to the ground. He glared at Mr. Zero.

"All of you are in this together and _all_ of you are responsible! One more _mistake_ and you'll wish you weren't alive. I am _so_ tired of mortals weaknesses and flaws!"

He turned towards the wall and started pacing. The mobster, his gang, Dr. Mendoza, Groot, and the vampires all stood silently watching Mr. Zero work on a new plan. Dr. Mendoza stepped forward, with his usual calm confidence.

"If I may be so bold…They may have escaped, but my concoction was effective, and the little one has successfully become a werewolf. Already the group is being torn apart, which I believe was your desire, no?"

Mr. Zero turned to him with an evil smirk. "Yes, that part of my plan is working. They are now short one, which will make them distracted and distressed. And pathetically desperate. We _must_ recapture them in order to complete my plan. I do thank you for accomplishing the first step."

Dr. Mendoza nodded and smiled calmly at Babyface. As Mr. Zero organized the next part of his plan, the group of villains returned to their various tasks, with a new determined energy.

"How does that feel?" Asked Magnolia, as she finished wrapping a makeshift bandage around Micky's arm. He was sitting on a large log next to her, while Peter sat on a rock nearby and Mike stood leaning against a tree.

"Like I'm a tossed salad." Responded Micky, "The kind where they shred the lettuce and actually throw it in the air."

Magnolia laughed and Mike couldn't help but watch her hair bouncing in the sunlight. Usually Davy was the one to get distracted by girls, but Magnolia was something entirely different. He couldn't place it, but something about her moved him. She was proving to be a great asset having once studied to be a nurse, and had the knowledge to treat Micky's arm to avoid infection. She even pointed out that both Mike and Peter and gotten scratched by the broken door during their escape before they had even noticed. Everyone's bruises and cuts had been treated, and Mike was now resting his sore throat.

"Guys, we need to find Davy." Said Peter, growing more and more concerned for their missing friend.

"Yes, Peter, but what are we going to do once we find him?" Asked Micky. "He's not exactly the Davy we know and love."

"We could talk to him!" Peter suggested. "Find the real Davy inside of the werewolf. I'm sure he's still in there."

"We don't know that…" Micky said, chewing his lip. "And the last thing we need is to have someone else get hurt...again. No, I say we make an cure."

"Micky, there is no cure." Mike said, his voice sounding gravelly. "This is a brand new concoction."

"Mike, rest your throat. There is an cure for everything, you just have to find it. I could try mixing a few medicines…"

"No, you're going to kill Davy if you do that." Responded Mike, sitting down next to him. "We need to find a professional. Someone who knows how to make things that go beyond what the typically pharmacists do."

"Who do we know that could do that?" Asked Peter.

"We know a lot of people who could make a cure, but they all want to kill us." Pointed out Micky.

"We might have to make a deal with someone." Admitted Mike. "I don't like it, but we really need help."

"We can't ask Dr. Mendoza or the vampires, obviously they are Mr. Zero's side…" Said Micky, "Who is left?"

Mike sighed. "I know who… We already know they like to compromise, and they are probably out of jail now too. The gypsies..."

"Mike, they really had it out for us."

"Yes, but a lot of people do, and Davy really needs our help. We can think of an agreement as we try to find them. I don't think they were evil enough for Mr. Zero to want to deal with them, since thievery was a way of life for them, and they were just trying to get the same gig as us."

Micky looked reluctant, but he nodded. "Ok, Mike. But only if Peter doesn't get held captive again, and you do all the talking since you are the only one smart enough to keep them from tricking us again."

Mike scoffed. "You're thinking of the wrong person! But as long as our end of the deal is good enough for them, we shouldn't have a problem. You good for walking?"

"Never felt better!" Micky jumped up, only slightly swaying as the dizziness from lack of blood took over. "You lead the way!" He tried to smile through the haze, but ended up looking loopy. At Mike's incredulous look Peter stepped forward and slipped his head under Micky's arm.

"I've got him, Mike!"

"Okay, now all we have to worry about is how to find and tame Davy, and where to find the Gypsies!"

 _Good plan, Monkees, but you forget, I am more powerful than you seem to think!_ Mr. Zero smiled to himself as he watch the four figures make their way through the forest. He had no doubt that the Gypsies would be able to help them out, and despite Dr. Mendoza's incredible experiment, keeping Davy as a werewolf was going to be unnecessary. He had made it clear that he could do whatever he wanted with them and had caused strife, so his purpose for turning Davy into a werewolf was completed.

No, he needed to use their quest for the Gypsies to further his plan. They would break and dispose of Magnolia, even if it meant that all would die except one. Granted, if one was left alive he would be so miserable for the rest of his life that it wouldn't matter anyway.

With a snap of his fingers Mr. Zero left the forest and appeared right in the middle of the Gypsy camp, causing one man to fall backwards out of his seat, while another mildly burned himself on his pork chops.

"Hello, Maria, my dear!" The woman turned, and her face lit up in a smile at the familiar man in front of her.

"Ah, Mr. Zero! How nice it is to see you! I assume you require our assistance again?"

Despite Mike's assessment of the Gypsies lack of evil, Mr. Zero had released them from jail after the Monkees had ruined their plot to steal the valuable Maltese vulture, causing them to forever be in his debt. Several times they had lured defenseless victims into Mr. Zero's traps, but he still came from time to time to cash in on their agreement.

"I do, but this particular time it has special interest to you!"

"To us?" Maria's interest peaked. "I'm listening!"

"The very Monkees who tried to end your thievery are currently searching for you! They seek to find a cure for their friend who has been turned into a werewolf by other subordinates of mine. I would like for them to find you and for you to help them. Then, once the short one has returned to his normal state you must lure them back to me! In return, I will grant you a large some of money."

"It will take much more than money to make us help them!" Maria growled through her teeth. "I cannot guarantee that my boys would not split them in half the moment they saw them!"

"It is very important that they all remain alive. They must be made to carry out the role I have set aside for them. However, I do not care what agreement you set up with them for the potion to turn Davy back. I will even supply the antidote to you to simplify the matter." There was no need for them to know exactly what they did or why the devil needed the Monkees to carry out his plan.

Maria hesitated for a moment. They did have new diamond necklace that she'd had her eye on, and using their innocent faces might be useful in snagging it. She now knew better than to send Marco with them, because he was clearly incompetent (and probably the only one in the group who didn't growl at the word 'Monkees' due to his new found interest in singing. They had now been chased out of more towns because of his new act than they had been for stealing.)

"Very well! We will help you with this one! It will be good to meet with our little Monkee pigeons again!"

"As I had hoped!" Mr. Zero smiled. "They will arrive shortly." In another show of skills he disappeared in a flash of light.

"Okay, let's get back to the pad. We can clean up a little and then head to the jail to see if they're still there and to talk with them. I have no idea how we'll get the potion, but we can think while we walk." Mike started to trudge into the forest, trying to not make it clear that he had no idea where they were and was terrified that they would starve to death or get mauled by a forest animal.

"No! We can't leave Davy!" Peter cried.

"Pete, we don't have a choice. He'll be here when we return." _I hope_. Mike struggled to make his voice sound confident.

"Mike! I don't want to leave him!"

"I understand that, but what do you think is a better plan? We find Davy, throw him on a leash, and bring him home?"

"No, of course not! The leash might choke him!" Peter was shocked that Mike would even think of restraining their friend.

Micky glanced up at Mike, knowing that he wasn't going to be happy that he was disagreeing with him. "Peter is right. We can't leave Davy here. Sure he's smashed through multiple doors and is the size of a small mountain, but we don't know how he can defend himself in the wild. All that strength and viciousness may wear off when he relaxes. I mean, you've seen him in the mornings when I wake him up too early."

"I've also seen him when he's gone through a nasty break up. He may never calm down. Guys, we've got to get killed if we try and find him."

"Or, we could help him through a hard time." Magnolia added her two cents to the conversation. "Perhaps the presence of his friends will help him, Mike."

Mike stared at disbelief at the three hopeful faces looking up at him. Somehow the choice had fallen on him, despite the fact that he had failed saving Micky or protecting Davy which had gotten them in that mess anyway. If they tried to find Davy he could end up killing them, and then he would always be a werewolf with no friends or hope of a cure. On the other hand they could be right. The Monkees were at their best when they were all together, and the idea of leaving Davy alone made Mike feel anxious.

"Well...okay fine. But please, don't do anything rash. He's still a uncontrollable monster even if he is our friend."

"It's good to know that not everything has changed!" Micky quipped before getting a playful tap on the head from Mike.

"Okay, I'm guessing he went this way." Mike observed.

"How do you know?" Peter asked.

"Well, Davy likes to run exactly north-west by 20 degrees, and oh! There's a path of broken branches and small trees that could only be made by an animal around the size that Davy was the last time we saw him."

"That's right folks! With only one dose of the Mendozium treatment, you will never be teased for being short again! Scientific studies carried out by the Zero's Scientific Research Enterprise participants reported experiencing an increase of growth by 300%! You're 5' 3"? Try 15'! Call now and receive another one for free! That's right! That's two doses of Mendozium for only fifteen years off of your life expectancy!" Micky raised his pitch to imitate the sound of a female voice. "Just a couple weeks ago I was at the grocery store and a random stranger had the nerve to ask me if I needed help reaching an item on the top shelf! Now, not only can I reach the top shelf, but I can also rip apart anyone who tries to ask me help them reach the top shelf! Thanks, Mendozium! My life will never be the same again!" He lowered his voice back to his announcer persona. "Side effects may include access body hair, bloodshot eyes, bad breath, violent tendencies, attraction to canines, the sudden urge to naw on your friend's hand, and headaches. Do not take if pregnant or if you have kidney failure. Please consult your doctor or your mother if you think Mendozium is right for you!"

Mike looked directly at the reader. "I honestly have no idea why I let him finish that. I don't even think they used that type of infomercial in the 60's."

"Who are you talking to?" Peter looked curiously toward the reader.

"TV Guide."


End file.
